Practice - Research -

Climate challenged: Our need to change Marg O’Brien Marg O’Brien offers two papers on and our need to change and where to focus our efforts

As an earlier trained clinical psychologist Marg moved into environmental work 30 years ago. In consulting and research roles, she has worked at the people-environment interface with an emphasis on building community resilience and progressing sustainable lifestyles. Marg is a member of the Society’s Climate Taskforce where her interest is in ensuring that local and central government understand and use the expertise psychologists can bring in progressing the country’s transition to sustainability.

At the 2014 NZ Psychological Society Annual Conference interacts and exacerbates many other issues critical to the AGM passed a remit on the Society’s responsibility environmental integrity and/or human well-being, e.g. on climate change and sustainability issues. This year the , and food security…. to essence of the remit was encapsulated in the Society’s name but a few. Our challenge is to acknowledge the new Position Statement on Environmental Wellbeing and responsibilities this brings to the profession: to understand Responsibility to Society1. To support this work, the NZPsS the psychology behind the destructive role that humans Climate Psychology Taskforce convened a Psychology have had in precipitating these events; determine what can for a Sustainable Future Symposium at the 2018 Jubilee and needs to be done to address this situation, and further, Conference in Auckland. to work facilitating the transition to a more sustainable way of being. Essentially, the Society has acknowledged the profound impact that humans are having on the environment and the urgent need for us to work to counter the detrimental In a nutshell, we are running out of time. There is an effects that are anticipated on human health and well- urgent need for us to slow down global warming and being.2 Recognized are the needs to strengthen our reduce risk by reducing emissions. capacity as practitioners to address a climate turbulent future; promote a wider understanding of the human and The 2013 report on the state of our global climate psychological dimensions of sustainability and particularly, conditions from the United Nations body, the global climate change; track and reduce the Society’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), own ecological footprint; and work with government indicates that climate change is getting worse and man is 3 and political organisations to ensure they understand the the main cause . Further, they stressed the importance of expertise that the discipline can offer re human adaptation, maintaining global warming below the 2ºC mark. This is mitigation and transformation efforts in response to widely considered to be the dividing line between warming sustainability and climate disturbance issues. which is just about tolerable and that which is dangerous. 4 Climate change, of course, is not the only factor Figure 1 depicts the projected warming relative to high and undermining sustainability, but no other phenomenon low growth emission scenarios. carries such risks to life on the planet. Climate change Specifically, a budget has been calculated - to have a two- 1 See http://www.psychology.org.nz/wp-content/uploads/NZPsS-2018- thirds chance of keeping global warming below 2ºC “will Statement-on-Environmental-Wellbeing-and-Responsibility-to-Society- require cumulative CO2 emissions from all anthropogenic Reviewed-Final-Version-20-April-2018-1.pdf 2 See also https://royalsociety.org.nz/assets/documents/Report-Human- 3 The points made in this paragraph are drawn from http://www. Health-Impacts-of-Climate-Change-for-New-Zealand-Oct-2017.pdf and economist.com/blogs/babbage/2013/09/ipcc-climate-change- MANNING, C. & CLAYTON, S. 2018. 9 - Threats to report and wellbeing associated with climate change. Psychology and Climate 4 From the NASA Earth Observatory on IPCC https://earthobservatory. Change. Academic Press. nasa.gov/Features/GlobalWarming/page5.php

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sources to stay [below] about 1,000 In a nutshell, we are running out of personally and professionally as we [trillion tonnes]”. In 2011, the world time. There is an urgent need for us to now find ourselves, we will need had already gone through just over slow down global warming and reduce to live differently, and we need a half that amount (531 trillion tonnes). risk by reducing emissions. This means different story to take effect. But it is more than we as individuals reducing Figure 1: Projected global surface warming relative to growth emission scenarios energy usage or consumption patterns or carbon footprint. It is a story that will need to acknowledge our interdependence with one another and with our planet. Taking on the responsibilities outlined in the Society’s Position Statement for social and environmental well-being will be part of our new professional story. This is our ultimate climate challenge. Business as usual is not an option.

References Corner, A. & Groves, C. 2014. Breaking the climate change communication deadlock. Nature Climate Change, 4, 743. Korten, D. C. 2015. Change the story, change the In 2015, when I first presented this a move to what we call a decarbonised future: A living economy for a living earth, Berrett- information at the NZPsS Conference, economy, one in which we move to Koehler Publishers. Manning, C. & Clayton, S. 2018. 9 - Threats to the rate of greenhouse-gas emissions low carbon energy sources (e.g. wind, mental health and wellbeing associated with climate (through the burning of fossil fuels, solar and hydro-power). This will change. Psychology and Climate Change. Academic cement production, land use change, ensure that the world’s oil and coal Press. etc.), meant that the rest of the budget sources stay in the ground, or if used, would be spent before 2040. be used by developing countries to Marg O’Brien is contactable on ensure an equitable starting place in [email protected] However, the IPCC report was their drive for a prosperous future. released prior to the events at COP215 As Prof Chris Ryan from Melbourne7 held in December 2015. This is has discussed, a paradigm change where, via the , the is needed – the old story based on international community agreed human progress enabled by fossil fuels not only to limit temperature rise to no longer works. We need a new story below 2ºC but also to pursue efforts to help shape our lives. to limit the temperature increase to 1.5ºC. We are already at 1.1ºC above pre-industrial levels and estimates We are already beginning to indicate that, if we maintain present experience extreme environmental day emission rates, we have a window changes so why is responding to this of opportunity of 7-10 years to keep reality being so resisted? global warming to 1.5ºC and 15-20 years to keep it at 2ºC6. Implicitly, our personal values, our worldviews and ideological frameworks – our shared stories 5 COP21 was the 21st yearly session of the Conference of the Parties (COP) to the 1992 provide us with direction on how United Nations Framework Convention on we shall live (Corner and Groves, Climate Change (UNFCCC) 2014, Korten, 2015). Challenged 6 Personal communication 17th May, 2018 from Prof James Renwick, Victoria University, 7 From a 2011 seminar at VEIL: Victorian Eco Wellington innovation Lab, Melbourne, Australia

94 vol 10 no 2 November 2018